The History of Fake Meat Starts With the Seventh-Day Adventist Church

[clueliss]

I can thank a friend of my sisters for this.  Granted I don't think she figured I'd be posting it here.  (Sister - who is in a hole with a rock pulled over he head or something - was at one time 7th Day Adventist, her friend still is).

I sort of knew the history of corn flakes - I didn't realize Kellog had a tie to this group.

http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-history-of-fake-meat-starts-with-the-seventh-day-adventist-church

[PennySycamore]

@clueliss, thanks for sharing that!  I knew a bit about the Kellogg Sanitarium and its connections to the Seventh Day Adventist Church.  I don't think I knew that Morningstar Farms was an offshoot of Worthington.

Plant meats have come a long way.  Beyond Meat is introducing a burger this year that will be sold in the meat section of the market.  Their  Beyond Beef and Beyond Chicken strips are good in recipes and there are the other locally produced plant meats.  No Evil Foods is made in Asheville NC (their chorizo is delicious!) and The Vegan Butcher is out of Minneapolis. There are others.  The Vegan Butcher is good enough to have appeared on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.  Gardein makes a pretty good fishless fish filet, but their fake crab cakes are forgettable.  I will admit thought that I didn't cook them quite right.

Btw, one of the patients are the Kellogg Sanitarium was CW Post of Post Toasties fame.

[Khan]

I found this interesting.  I use some Morningstar products and like them quite a bit. This shows that I need to do a lot more research into what I'm eating, where it came from, and who owns the company.

[Geechee Girl]

This takes me down the SDA potluck memory lane of misery. I'll be fine never having to see Worthington/Loma Linda canned "meat" again. Don't these look appetizing? Skallops are right up there with the abomination known as Krab. I rebuke it!

[Khan]

What the hell? Why are these things in cans? Are they trying to compete with @OkToBeTakei and that avatar?

Ew ew ew! I'm allergic to shellfish so I've never tried the fake versions but they look so slimy and menacing.

[LadyCrow1313]

Fascinating. I knew about some of the health things that Kellogg was into, but had no idea about the origins of meat substitutes.

(incidentally, I love the Gardein "fish" fillet & crab cakes; they both do taste pretty good.)

 

[Cleopatra7]

I think seitan, which originated among Chinese Buddhist monks, is/was probably the first fake meat:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheat_gluten_(food)

I've been vegetarian/vegan for fifteen years and I never liked Lorma Linda products though. Like @Khan I have an aversion to certain things in cans.

[December]

11 hours ago, Khan said:

I found this interesting.  I use some Morningstar products and like them quite a bit. This shows that I need to do a lot more research into what I'm eating, where it came from, and who owns the company.

I buy Morningstar products sometimes, too, and I never realized there was a connection either!  

The history of Corn Flakes is pretty wacky -- of all products, who'd have thought something so boring would have such an interesting backstory? John Harvey Kellogg, the more religiously-involved brother that developed the cereal (not the one that marketed it and founded the company), had some pretty out-there beliefs like eugenics and masturbation prevention. 

[LadyCrow1313]

19 minutes ago, December said:

I buy Morningstar products sometimes, too, and I never realized there was a connection either!  

The history of Corn Flakes is pretty wacky -- of all products, who'd have thought something so boring would have such an interesting backstory? John Harvey Kellogg, the more religiously-involved brother that developed the cereal (not the one that marketed it and founded the company), had some pretty out-there beliefs like eugenics and masturbation prevention. 

That's probably why it does have an interesting story. Cornflakes aren't exactly the most exciting cereal.

(On a side note & back in the day, I loved Lucky Charms because of the marshmallows; now I'm boring as cornflakes myself when it comes to cereal & love Trader Joe's O's). 

ps: Morningstar makes great products! There's only been one or two things that I wasn't overly excited about (some garden nugget thing that came out earlier this year), but they're overall tasty.

[December]

7 minutes ago, LadyCrow1313 said:

(On a side note & back in the day, I loved Lucky Charms because of the marshmallows; now I'm boring as cornflakes myself when it comes to cereal & love Trader Joe's O's). 

If you search "cereal marshmallows" on Amazon you can buy Lucky Charms-style marshmallows. A friend of mine got some and they were very similar.  Maybe I was a weird kid, but I generally preferred savory over sweet foods, even for breakfast. 

[AliceInFundyland]

I'm not sure I could ever give up Morningstar stuff. They predate everyone else. And the breakfast patties still taste like they did when I was a kid. I don't care what ties there are; I don't care about the GMOs.  It's just one of those consistency things. Little vegetarian Alice didn't have 90 million veggie burger options...we had Morningstar Grillers. Thusly, those continue to be a standby.

 

[LadyCrow1313]

12 minutes ago, December said:

If you search "cereal marshmallows" on Amazon you can buy Lucky Charms-style marshmallows. A friend of mine got some and they were very similar.  Maybe I was a weird kid, but I generally preferred savory over sweet foods, even for breakfast. 

Hooray for weirdos!   

Thanks for the tip, but I'm not that motivated to find them. Plus my teeth wouldn't be too pleased if I did. Damn it. 

[Khan]

Those little marshmallows made a great gift to friends stationed overseas. A taste of childhood that wouldn't melt. 

 

Mmm. Morningstar products lend themselves to alof kinds of fun. I think I'll post some recipes in the food threads. Ravioli, anyone?

[PennySycamore]

I actually prefer the Morningstar "chickn" strips to the Beyond Meat one for my stir fried and not just because they are cheaper.

[Thumper]

I absolutely adore Gardein's chicken scallopi. I probably eat it a few times a week. My husband and i stock up on it.

Field Roast sausages are just perfect. I love slicing them, sautéing them and putting them into pasta sauce. The chao cheese made by Fueld Roast is just delightful though I didn't care for Field Roast burgers.

Textured vegetable protein is a big hit with most people. I like to make tacos out of it. Just add broth, a taco seasoning pack and salsa and voila. It's quick and cheap. It also makes great sloppy joes.

Ive made my own seitan but it takes awhile. It can be temperamental and hasn't always come out great for me but it is a home run when done right.

[louisa05]

I'm not trying to be snarky or anything...I sincerely do not get fake meat. If meat is so bad that you will not eat it, why do you want fake meat? And I do not mean bad as taste; so don't give me that answer. If you believe we do not need and should not eat meat and poultry, then why are you craving the texture/taste enough to seek out fake versions?   

[Kailash]

@louisa05 Good question. The main reason I eat mostly vegetarian is because organic, humane raised meat is very expensive and sometimes hard to find.  Sometimes I use "meat" crumbles just to add texture and nutrition to taco "meat" or vegetarian chili. I actually like the taste of garden burgers. 

If the main objection to meat for some people is that a living being was killed, then a meat "substitute" makes sense to me. I find nothing wrong with a vegan liking the taste of fake bacon, for instance.  You may feel differently.

[AliceInFundyland]

On 9/18/2016 at 8:40 AM, louisa05 said:

I'm not trying to be snarky or anything...I sincerely do not get fake meat. If meat is so bad that you will not eat it, why do you want fake meat? And I do not mean bad as taste; so don't give me that answer. If you believe we do not need and should not eat meat and poultry, then why are you craving the texture/taste enough to seek out fake versions?   

Well, my parents wanted a substitute. They missed the umami. Tofu does NOT give you that without a lot of fiddling and fussing about.  IT IS about taste and texture. You can quit something and still miss it. I have NEVER had bacon or a steak. And when I smell them cooking something in my inner brain knows it's missing out. What the fuck's up with that? It's weird biology man.

I have friends though who quit when they were older and cannot smell any meat and now gag when they smell any sort of meat cooking.

There was also a brief moment where I was dreaming about eating chicken. For about a month. It was very weird. I did. It was horrible for my digestive system. So, back to well-marinated chik'n strips I go.

You could ask the same question of  an alcoholic who is drinking fake beer (have you tried that shit?) Or smokers using the e-cigs to transition. I think this is a slightly different situation. It does help a lot of people who need to do it for health reasons though.

I just like them.

 

 

 

[RosaLuxcyborg]

On 9/18/2016 at 9:40 AM, louisa05 said:

I'm not trying to be snarky or anything...I sincerely do not get fake meat. If meat is so bad that you will not eat it, why do you want fake meat? And I do not mean bad as taste; so don't give me that answer. If you believe we do not need and should not eat meat and poultry, then why are you craving the texture/taste enough to seek out fake versions?   

I believe that it is ethically wrong to take the life of a being for any reason other than euthanasia. I do not believe that man has dominion over other living things, and therefore question my "right" to treat animals as objects.

I do not "believe" that we don't need animal flesh. I know it to be a fact. Animal tissue has not been a part of my diet for 12 years. There are other vegans and vegetarians who have abstained for far far longer than I.

However, for the first 15 years of my life I ate flesh, and enjoyed it. It's tasty to me. I am not ashamed of admitting that. It's simply the case. But my enjoyment of animal flesh and products does not make it all right to mistreat and kill animals.

Because I enjoyed the flavors and textures of flesh, I want to recreate the meals I once enjoyed. What I do not want, is to contribute to the unnecessary suffering and death of animals when I do that.

 

[imokit]

@louisa05 Meat tastes good.  Evolution has helped make us crave meat.  Fake meat is gross for some people but for others it tastes good, and for yet others its a good source of protein.

As a veggie who ate meat till I was 12, I go through phases of fake meat - just as I go through soup/other food phases.  To me its not about fake meat, its just food I like.  Except Facon - that is about trying to replicate bacon - because I miss you bacon and maple syrup and bacon rolled around dates 

Personally I object to killing things for pleasure.  In the country I live in, eating meat is about pleasure as there is plenty of non killed food around for people to live without it.  Fake meat gives you some (its not as good as the real thing) of the pleasure without the killing part. 

[Geechee Girl]

As others have noted, everyone has their reasons. Meat and seafood were a large part of my culture. However, a majority of what we ate was caught wild, and the rest came from the kosher butchershop. Living on the coast spoiled me. It was no biggie to drive to the docks and purchase seafood right off the boats. I'm a pescatarian because I don't want to support the industrialized meat production we have here in the States. I use meat alternatives because they are an option to having the mouthfeel and flavor of meat. I love me some Morningstar Farms sausage patties and Grillers Prime. Also, the ethically raised meat and seafood I have access to from Whole Foods or the farmers' market is out of my budget except for special occasions, like Christmas shrimp & crab gumbo. 

I really miss real barbecue, pig roasts, Lowcountry boil and Brunswick stew. Oh, and boudin and crawfish! 

Y'all heard of the Vegan Black Metal Chef?  His cookbook,The Seitanic Spellbook, is on my Xmas wishlist. I've made some dishes from his YT channel, and they're pretty good.

[Kailash]

@Geechee Girl I'm going to check that cookbook out for sure. I cracked up reading "Seitanic" used that way. Clever!

[PennySycamore]

@Geechee Girl,  one of the foods I miss eating as a vegetarian is Shrimp and Grits.  Now I can always make cheese grits, but it's not the same.  

[LadyCrow1313]

On ‎10‎/‎1‎/‎2016 at 4:20 AM, Geechee Girl said:

Y'all heard of the Vegan Black Metal Chef?  His cookbook,The Seitanic Spellbook, is on my Xmas wishlist. I've made some dishes from his YT channel, and they're pretty good.

I went to a cooking demonstration that he did here a few years ago at a vegan fest. I also met him beforehand; not only is he very nice, but he seems to also have a good sense of humor & his food (they gave samples to everyone that attended his demonstration) was fabulous!!!

I am very excited to get my hands on his cookbook; it started to be sold at a local vegan restaurant (which I haven't been to yet) about a week or so ago, so I plan to actually get off my tuckus and grab it asap.

[Geechee Girl]

Heck yeah! That's way cool, @LadyCrow1313  He seems like a cool guy.